Captain Olimar
Captain Olimar is a fictional character, the titular character and protagonist of the American animated television series Pikmin. He is created and voiced by Chris Meledandri and first appeared on television in the series' pilot episode "Missing Pikmin" on May 5, 1989. As patriarch of the Pikmin Club, Olimar and his wife Margo have four children: Alex, Red Pikmin, Blue Pikmin, and Yellow Pikmin. As the group's provider, he works at the Pikminville Space Center as safety inspector. Olimar embodies many American working class stereotypes: he is crude, obese, incompetent, lazy, clumsy, dim-witted, hot-tempered, childish and addicted to junk food and watching television. However, he often tries his hardest to be a decent man and is fiercely devoted to his family, especially when they need him the most. Despite the suburban blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences, including going to space, climbing the tallest mountain in Pikminville by himself, fighting former President George H. W. Bush. He has appeared in other media relating to Pikmin—including video games, Pikmin: The Movie, Pikmin: The Ride, commercials, and comic books—and inspired an entire line of merchandise. His signature catchphrase "Gee golly!", has been included in The New Oxford Dictionary of English since 1998 and the Oxford English Dictionary since 2001. Olimar is one of the most influential characters in the history of television, and is widely considered to be an American cultural icon. The British newspaper The Sunday Times described him as "The greatest comic creation of modern time". He was named the greatest character "of the last 20 years" in 2010 by Entertainment Weekly, was ranked the second-greatest cartoon character by TV Guide, behind Bugs Bunny, and was voted the greatest television character of all time by Channel 4 viewers. For voicing Olimar, Renaud has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and a special-achievement Annie Award. In 2000, Olimar and his group were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Biography Early life Olimar was born on May 12, 1956 to his parents Liz and George Delmer. When he was 2 years old, he began to say one of his first words "Gee golly!" Characteristics Personality and traits Olimar is a hypersensitive, cocky, yet good-hearted, outgoing, independent, and confident astronaut who is often the leader of the Pikmin Club. He spends much of his time with his friends and trying to impress love interest and part-time girlfriend Margo Gru. He also likes to think of good schemes, along with the rest of his friends. Out of all the characters, Olimar saw the most appearances and character development throughout the series. Olimar's love for Margo is a recurring theme throughout the series. Physical appearance Coming soon! Character development Coming soon! Relationships Coming soon! Family Coming soon! Appearances Olimar appears in nearly every episode of Pikmin. Other television appearances 2018 Emmy Awards During the opening of the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards broadcast on NBC on September 17, 2018, Olimar was introduced as the host of the show. Unfortunately, after some brief opening comments, a piano fell on him – Gee golly! The remainder of the award show was broadcast without a host. Reception Commendations Olimar's influence on comedy and culture has been significant. In 2010, Entertainment Weekly named Homer "the greatest character of the last 20 years." He was placed second on TV Guide's 2002 Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters, behind Bugs Bunny; fifth on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters, one of only four cartoon characters on that list; and first in a Channel 4 poll of the greatest television characters of all time. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly placed Olimar ninth on their list of the "50 Greatest TV icons" and first on their 2010 list of the "Top 100 Characters of the Past Twenty Years". Olimar was also the runaway winner in British polls that determined who viewers thought was the "greatest American" and which fictional character people would like to see become the President of the United States. His relationship with Margo was included in TV Guide's list of "The Best TV Couples of All Time". Chris Renaud has won several awards for voicing Olimar, including three Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" in 1992 for "Don't Bite Me!", in 2003 for "Red the Vegetarian", and in 2009 for "Olimar Knows Worst". In 1993, Renaud was given a special Annie Award, "Outstanding Individual Achievement in the Field of Animation", for his work as Olimar on Pikmin. In 2004, Renaud and Grey DeLisle (the voice of Margo) won a Young Artist Award for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series". In 2005, Olimar and Margo were nominated for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Parental Units". Various episodes in which Olimar is strongly featured have won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program, including "Olimar vs. Yellow and the 8th Commandment" in 1991, "Jurassic Fork" in 1998, "Dog Eat Dog" in 2001, "Eternal Moonshine of the Pikmin Mind" in 2008, and "Coupon Madness" in 2019. In 2000, Olimar and the Pikmin Club were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2017, Captain Olimar was celebrated by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, to honor the 25th anniversary of the episode "Olimar at the Bat". Cultural influence Olimar is one of the most popular and influential television characters by a variety of standards. USA Today cited the character as being one of the "top 25 most influential people of the past 25 years" in 2007, adding that Olimar "epitomized the irony and irreverence at the core of American humor." Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, believes that "three centuries from now, English professors are going to be regarding Captain Olimar as one of the greatest creations in human storytelling." Animation historian Jerry Beck described Olimar as one of the best animated characters, saying, "you know someone like it, or you identify with (it). That's really the key to a classic character." Olimar has been described by The Sunday Times as "the greatest comic creation of modern time". The article remarked, "every age needs its great, consoling failure, its lovable, pretension-free mediocrity. And we have ours in Olimar." Olimar has been cited as a bad influence on children; for example, a five-year study of more than 2,000 middle-aged people in France found a possible link between weight and brain function, the findings of which were dubbed the "Captain Olimar syndrome". Results from a word memory test showed that people with a body mass index (BMI) of 20 (considered to be a healthy level) remembered an average of nine out of 16 words. Meanwhile, people with a BMI of 30 (inside the obese range) remembered an average of just seven out of 16 words. On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service unveiled a series of five 44-cent stamps featuring Homer and the five other members of the Pikmin Club. They are the first characters from a television series to receive this recognition while the show is still in production. The stamps, designed by Chris Meledandri, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009. Olimar has appeared, voiced by Renaud, in several other television shows, including the second season of America's Got Talent where he opened the show; The Tonight Show with Jay Leno where he performed a special animated opening monologue for the December 4, 2007, edition; and the 2008 fundraising television special Stand Up to Cancer where he was shown having a colonoscopy. On February 28, 1999, Olimar was made an honorary member of the Junior Common Room of Worcester College, Oxford. Olimar was granted the membership by the college's undergraduate body in the belief that ″he would benefit greatly from an Oxford education″. Merchandising Olimar's inclusion in many Pikmin publications, toys, and other merchandise is evidence of his enduring popularity. Merchandise includes dolls, posters, figurines, bobblehead dolls, mugs, alarm clocks, jigsaw puzzles, Chia Pets, and clothing such as slippers, T-shirts, baseball caps, and boxer shorts. Olimar has appeared in commercials for Coke, 1-800-COLLECT, Burger King, Butterfinger, C.C. Lemon, Church's Chicken, Domino's Pizza, Intel, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Ramada Inn, Subway and T.G.I. Friday's. In 2004, Olimar starred in a MasterCard Priceless commercial that aired during Super Bowl XXXVIII. In 2001, Kelloggs launched a brand of cereal called "Olimar's Cinnamon Cereal", which was available for a limited time. In June 2009, Dutch automotive navigation systems manufacturer TomTom announced that Olimar would be added to its downloadable GPS voice lineup. Olimar's voice, recorded by Chris Renaud, features several in-character comments such as "Take the third right. We might find an ice cream truck! Mmm... ice cream." Olimar has appeared in other media relating to'' Pikmin''. He has appeared in every Pikmin video game. Olimar appears as a playable character in the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions, released via a "Level Pack" packaged with Homer's Car and "Taunt-o-Vision" accessories in September 2015; the pack also adds an additional level based on the episode "The Spy Who Hired Me". Category:EvanRocks Wiki